Beddington South: from Greenways to cycleways

“Get Sutton Cycling have reconsidered the proposed Roundshaw Downs Greenways and would like the funding re-allocated, as in this case, there’s a risk of disturbing valuable rare habitats and protected species, in an attempt to tick the ‘cycling box’. Now is the time to plan for the delivery of more effective, visible, cycling infrastructure and behaviour change, that can enable people to take up cycling for their local day-to-day journeys. There are visible road routes on quieter residential streets to reach the necessary destinations. Hidden Greenway links, tend to appeal only to occasional recreational use. While plans are considered, and bids possibly drawn-up, a start can be made to improve some cycling features that already exist, and add others that could deliver quick wins, that will not disturb important nature conservation on our Roundshaw Downs. Maeve Tomlinson and Charles Martin report.”

One of the eight short-listed schemes for 2017/2018 was described as “Greenway link on Roundshaw Downs – Overhill Road route and Plough Lane route”. This scheme had been included as part of our Space for Cycling ‘ward asks’ for Beddington South in 2014. Consequently, when Get Sutton Cycling was asked to prioritise three of the eight schemes (funding restricted to only £150,000) at the Sutton Cycle Forum in September 2016, the Roundshaw Downs scheme was chosen (along with a contraflow for cycling along Camden Road, Carshalton, and improvements to the Ross Parade, Bridge Road, Clarendon Road junction in Wallington).

At the Beddington and Wallington local committee held on 11 October 2016, residents and councillors raised concerns about the Roundshaw Downs paths. There was concern that the construction of a formal path across Roundshaw Downs, an important Local Nature Reserve and unimproved chalk grassland, would disturb a valuable nature conservation resource for birds, insects and plants including the red listed ‘Sky Lark’ and legally protected ‘Yellow Rattle’. Sutton Nature Conservation Volunteers have written extensively about Roundshaw Downs on their website [1] (see box below).

Sutton Nature Conservation Volunteers write:

‘Roundshaw Downs, at 38 ha, is the largest area of unimproved chalk grassland in the borough. As such, it provides an extremely valuable nature conservation resource for insects, birds and wild flowers’. ‘Although there are a number of mown paths enabling easy access around the site for people, there are large swathes of un spoilt grassland.’ ‘The grassland also supports ground-nesting birds like the skylark (Alauda arvensis) and the meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis). The skylark is a Red List bird, that is, it is a bird of conservation concern due to the dramatic decline in its population in Britain. The major cause for this is the lack of suitable places for it to nest, as many farms now don’t have rough areas in fields.’

Get Sutton Cycling, in light of the concerns, at our meeting on 28 November 2016 decided it was far better to focus on achieving the core theme of the Beddington South ‘ward ask’, namely safe cycle routes to the five schools in the ward. Currently, Plough Lane, Foresters Drive, Mollison Drive (and Purley Way, Croydon) are not appealing to cycling. The situation needs important action, through the provision of on-road, cycling infrastructure, and awareness raised of existing routes on quieter residential streets, so there’s a much needed, vast increase in cycling across the ward. This would also improve requirements of public health, tackle air pollution and enable people to lead healthier more active lifestyles, by making journeys by bicycle a feasible option. There’s a ride from Purley to Beddington found on quieter, side roads, that runs parallel to Foresters Drive that only adds a small amount of journey time. Routes could also be improved for example, where the Phoenix Centre on Mollison Drive links up with Redford Avenue and on other routes that are not through roads for cars but could be made more practical and congenial for access by foot, bicycle, pram and mobility scooter.

Consequently we have written to Sutton Council to request that the Greenway link on Roundshaw Downs scheme on the LIP programme 2017-2018 priority list have the funding re-allocated. However, if a growth in cycling on our roads results in an increase in demand for the Greenway links, and provided the challenges of preserving endangered and/or legally protected rare birds, plants and habitats can work in conjunction with a sensitive Greenway link, there may be an option to revisit these ideas at a later date.

In place of the Roundshaw Downs Greenway links, there are a number of improvements locally that could be implemented in the short term, and Get Sutton Cycling will be asking the council to consider these instead. Such improvements could be funded either from the ‘minor works’ programme or redirected from the Roundshaw Downs scheme, and include:

a makeover of the Mollison Drive to Hannibal Way path (adjacent to Wilson’s School). The dropped-kerb at Mollison Drive is not flush with the carriageway (by at least 2 cm) and requires modification for smooth and safe transition between carriageway and path (see photos 4, 5 and 6). The three sets of chicane barriers situated along the path are not appropriate, and may be in breach of the Equality Act 2010 (see photos 4, 6 to 10). We would like them to be removed and, if thought necessary, replaced with a single bollard. London Cycling Design Standards (TfL, November 2014), Part 3: Cycle-friendly streets and spaces (page 6, section 3.2.2: Understanding cyclists – inclusive cycling).

the installation of contraflows for cycling on Link Lane. This was considered a number of years ago, and it is believed that residents rejected the idea at the time. With the borough’s Cycling Strategy in place, and updated London Cycling Design Standards guidance published, it would be appropriate to revisit this proposal now. London Cycling Design Standards (TfL, November 2014), Part 4: Cycle lanes and tracks (Cycle lanes: Two-way cycling in one-way streets (page 47) “Unless there are over-riding reasons not to, there should be a presumption that contraflow cycling should be provided for in any one-way street”).

a review of access provision on residential streets, including Meteor Way, Typhoon Way, Hengist Way and Alcock Close, to accommodate people with mobility issues, those with pushchairs and those cycling. There are currently a number of obstacles on side roads close to the Phoenix Centre, including narrow gaps and raised kerbs, creating barriers to cycling. Essentially, ‘think cycling’ to create better links for those walking, those using mobility scooters, and those cycling between Redford Avenue and the Phoenix Centre on Mollison Drive.

implementation of traffic calming on Plough Lane (especially near the point where Plough Lane crosses the railway by Sandy Lane South and The Chase), through strategies that use visual aspects of street design to influence behaviour rather than harder physical measures. There are few places to cross the railway, so where crossings exist they need to be cycle-friendly [2]. London Cycling Design Standards (TfL, November 2014), Part 3: Cycle-friendly streets and spaces (Civilised streets: Area strategies).

In the medium term we would like to see engagement with residents and schools across the ward, set in terms of low-traffic, liveable, neighbourhoods and healthy streets. This would include making the case for:

the provision of dedicated space for cycling on Mollison Drive and Foresters Drive (a combination of stepped tracks and full or light segregation on-carriageway). London Cycling Design Standards (TfL, November 2014), Part 4: Cycle lanes and tracks (Full separation on links).

the closure to motor traffic of one or more of the arms at the Sandy Lane South, Waterer Rise, Foresters Drive and Wordsworth Road junction (also see A ride around Beddington and Wallington with Councillor Manuel Abellan). London Cycling Design Standards (TfL, November 2014), Part 3: Cycle-friendly streets and spaces (Civilised streets: Filtered permeability).

Beddington South is the only ward in Sutton where all three councillors showed support for Space for Cycling. Consequently, there is great potential for the area to become the borough’s first truly cycle-friendly neighbourhood. It is hoped that the refocus of ideas discussed here (and developed further in photos 4 to 13 below) will help lead the way.

Some improvements for Beddington South in the short term (photos 4 to 11)

4: Mollison Drive, and western end of path link between Mollison Drive and Hannibal Way. This is a partially signed cycle ‘route’ towards Croydon (also see photos 5 and 6). In its current state, this is not cycling infrastructure. It’s time to get the basics right.28 November 2016

5: Mollison Drive (same location as photo 4), and a close-up look at the cycle gap link, carriageway to path interface. Such an up-stand hardly provides for comfortable cycling. The carriageway appears to have been recently resurfaced too (see photo 11).28 November 2016

6: Mollison Drive: same location as photos 4 and 5, looking back from the path towards Mollison Drive. If we are serious about this path being a useful, fit-for-purpose, cycling asset, then it’s time the barriers were removed (a single post would suffice here.28 November 2016

7: Midway along the Mollison Drive to Hannibal Way path, looking east towards Hannibal Way. Another set of barriers. It has been suggested that all the chicane barriers on this path were installed to prevent the users of motor-bikes and quad-bikes from gaining access. However, while such barriers remain in situ, they make life difficult for those using mobility scooters, make uncomfortable cycling for able-bodied people, and prevent people using adapted bicycles (as mobility aids) from using the path completely. Just the the left of this view is Wilson’s School, including a bicycle storage facility for staff and pupils. On this particular day, there no bikes to be seen parked up. Is it any wonder28 November 2016

8: The eastern end of the path, by Hannibal Way. Another set of chicane barriers, this time supplemented by a series of bollards. At least at this end of the path (which borders with the London borough of Croydon – the building seen on the other side of the road is in Croydon), there are directional signs, offering a degree of legibility. Wallington, Beddington Park, Purley way and Croydon are the offered destinations, suggesting the path is a rather strategic cycle link. All the more a pity then that there are no signs at the Mollison Drive end of the path.28 November 2016

9: Same location as in photo 8, same barriers. Looking across Hannibal Way towards a segregated, barrier-free, path linking with Imperial Way (Croydon). It’s clear from the muddy link, that many people bypass the barriers. Well, why wouldn’t you?28 November 2016

10: Hannibal Way again (see photos 8 and 9), this time viewed from the opposite direction (the Imperial Way path in Croydon). This view hardly suggests that Sutton is a cycling borough of distinction. Quite the opposite in fact. The marginalisation of cycling continues.28 November 2016

11: Link Lane (east end) from Mollison Drive and Wilson’s School.

12: Detail from Local Cycling Guide 12, Transport for London, 2013, for South Beddington. The east-west green line across the centre is the Mollison Drive to Hannibal Way path (approximately 300 metres in length). Green indicates ‘off-road routes: either alongside roads, through parks, or along towpaths’, and they ‘may not be available or suitable for use at night’, and be ‘shared with pedestrians’. Streets in blue are ‘routes signed or marked for use by cyclists on a mixture of quiet or busier roads’; those in yellow ‘quieter roads that have been recommended by other cyclists [and] may connect other route sections’. The red dashed line shows the Sutton/Croydon borough boundary. Fiveways Corner, shown top right, is currently subject to development through the Road Modernisation Plan programme. See Transforming Fiveways Croydon.

Making cycling a real option for local journeys in the medium term (images 13 and 14)

13: Mollison Drive, looking south, just a few metres to the south of the ‘intersection’ with the Hannibal Way path. Traffic calming hardware, and an attempt to provide something for cyclists. But these narrow gaps (around 80cm) are not acceptable facilities for cycling, let alone best practice. But is there the space to provide dedicated cycle paths? Yes there is. The total width of carriageway and footway combined here is around 15.8m. Fifteen metres is plenty of room to develop with-flow cycle tracks on both sides of Mollison Drive.28 November 2016

14: Even at Mollison Drive’s narrowest point (near Brackley Close), located approximately 250 metres to the south of the location on photo 13, where the overall width of carriageway and footway reduces to about 11m, it would be possible to include cycle tracks if the general carriageway was treated to a road narrowing similar to the one shown in photo 13 (of around 4 metres). Kerb-side parking would need to be addressed, but space for parking could be found elsewhere (elsewhere being somewhere where it did not encroach on public space that could be better utilised).28 November 2016